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Blue Mountains line
The Blue Mountains Line (BML) is an interurban rail service operated by NSW TrainLink serving the Blue Mountains region of New South Wales, Australia. The line travels west from Sydney to the major town of Katoomba and on to Lithgow on the western foothills of the mountains. A limited diesel service extends to the regional city of Bathurst, which is supplemented by road coaches connecting Bathurst to Lithgow. The Blue Mountains Line operates over a section of the Main Western railway line. As such, the tracks are also traversed by longer distance NSW TrainLink Regional (West) and Indian Pacific passenger services and by freight trains. History The Blue Mountains line is a section of the Main Western Line which opened in 1868. The line was built with gradients as steep as 1 in 33 (3%) and curves as sharp as 8 chains (160m). Most of the curves were eased to 12 chains (240m) with duplication. The line originally ascended the eastern and descended the western sides of the Blue Mountains via a series of zig-zag track sections. The eastern zig zag was by passed by a tunnel in 1892 and the western zig zag (now in use as a Tourist Railway) was bypassed in 1910 with the Ten Tunnels Deviation. In the 1950s, the line was electrified primarily as a means of easing the haulage of coal freight from the western coalfields to the coastal ports, but a by-product of this programme was the introduction of electric interurban passenger services as far west as Bowenfels, later cut back to the current terminus of Lithgow. Goods trains are now exclusively diesel hauled. Electric passenger services were originally provided by a combination of electric locomotive hauled carriages and single deck electric multiple unit sets (known as U sets), both of which have now been withdrawn and replaced more modern rolling stock. In June 2012, New South Wales Premier Barry O'Farrell announced that services would be extended to Bathurst. The service commenced on 21 October 2012. Services The line is primarily operated by NSWTrainLink's older V set trains. Modern H sets (OSCARs) also occasionally operate on the line as far as Springwood. Due to the narrow loading gauge, they may not pass Springwood. This limitation is caused by narrow tunnels and also platforms not having sufficient clearance for the (plug) doors on H sets to open. At most times, it is an hourly service in each direction, with trains alternating between the Lithgow and Mount Victoria termini. All services start from Sydney Central intercity platforms (1-12). There are additional services in peak hours with some trains terminating at Springwood and Katoomba, and some continuing past Central to Hornsby, using the North Shore line platforms (16, 18). These services are 4 cars at most times and built up to 8 cars for busier services. There are also limited services to Bathurst. As the line is unelectrified past Lithgow, these services are run by Endeavour sets. There are two morning inbound and two evening outbound services between Bathurst and Sydney, known as the Bathurst Bullet, as they run express, even skipping most Blue Mountains stations. There are also two shuttle services in each direction in the early morning/late night running between Lithgow and Bathurst. These train services are supplemented by coach services from Lithgow. Stations Though the above is the usual stopping pattern, it sometimes changes due to things such as peak hour and trackwork. The entire line can be paid for with an Opal card. Although the Bathurst Bullet is part of the Blue Mountains line, it has an altered stopping pattern, stopping at the following stations: * Central * Parramatta * Westmead * Penrith * Springwood * Katoomba * Mount Victoria * Rydal * Tarana * Bathurst Coach services stop at the following locations: * Lithgow - connects to trains * Wallerawang * Mount Lambie * Meadow Flat * Yetholme * Raglan * Kelso * Bathurst Category:NSW TrainLink lines Category:NSW TrainLink